The Seattle Humane Society is the largest private animal shelter serving King County. With the SHS Blog, we'll feature pets, upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and the day-to-day work of the Seattle Humane Society.

Kitten Development

Alison is a dedicated foster parent for the Seattle Humane Society. She voluntarily opens her heart and home to shelter cats that need a little extra TLC, and by doing so, she is literally expanding the shelter walls. Every other Tuesday she blogs about her foster experiences. Catch up on her last blog here.

Diego – the first kitten to step into the litterbox and successfully go potty!

Last time, I wrote a bit about the few first weeks of their life and of my high hopes for “litterbox masters” by the time I sat down to write this blog post. Of course – I am happy to announce – now two weeks later, with the kittens at 7-weeks-old, I not only have a bathroom full, but a house full, of highly competent litterbox users. Since they have proved themselves, they are now free to roam our home when we are supervising. We even have let the kittens stay out overnight and, to my pleasure, Dora and Otis slept in bed with us one of the nights! They sure are cuddly kittens.

In addition to using the litterbox, the kittens have learned how to eat solid food and no longer nurse. Tilla, their mother, was taken back to the Seattle Humane Society to be spayed and made available for adoption!

Our cat, Lucifer, curled up with little Dora – these kittens will be fit for a multi-pet home!

The kittens also went in to Seattle Humane for their first round of vaccines and get some deworming medicine. They are right on schedule with normal kitten growth! The only one who seems to be on a slightly different timeline is Quiggly. Because he was a runt, he was forced to be weaned quicker and actually was the first to eat solid food. Quiggly also seems to have different balance, coordination and motor skills. He also does silly things like attacking the vacuum while all the other animals run in fright and when I get home and open the bathroom door – everyone runs out, while Quiggly sleeps away unaware. This makes it seem like there is a slight possibility that he is at least partially deaf so Tyler and I have been carefully watching his development to see if it is just an awkward stage or something more like deafness.

Otis stretched out snoozing after a long day of playing.

As a foster parent, it is extremely important to be aware of the certain developmental and health aspects of the animal’s life, whether it is a kitten growing from birth or an elderly dog. Foster parents are given enough training and resources from the Seattle Humane Society to be aware of any possible situations arising. And no matter the time of day, if there is a true emergency – which we have been lucky enough not to have experienced – there is always someone available to contact so as a foster parent, we can rest assured that there is a professional waiting and that we are not alone in dealing with anything!

Until next time, any questions or comments about the kittens or fostering for the Seattle Humane Society are encouraged! And if you have ever had a deaf animal or have any ideas to try and “test” Quiggly’s hearing, please share it with me. It would be fun to get feedback for ideas before the next vet visit!